HISTORY of PHILIPPINE MUSIC

I. Indigenous Music Largely functional Expressed either instrumentally, vocally, or a combination of both Indigenous music before the colonial era was largely functional. Expressed either instrumentally or vocally or a combination of both, music was deeply integrated with the activities of the natives. The ancient Filipinos had music practically for all occasions, for every phase of life, from birth to death.

Indigenous Musical Instruments Aerophones Chordophones Idiophones Membranophones A few differences may be noted between the instruments of the Northern and Southern Philippines. These differences lie primarily in the manner of construction, the style of playing them and the sound they produce. By and large, however, instruments found all over the Islands are strikingly similar.

Aerophones any musical instrument which produces sound primarily by causing a body of air to vibrate, without the use of strings or membranes, and without the vibration of the instrument itself adding considerably to the sound  best represented by the many types of bamboo flutes that are found all over the country

Lip Valley Flute paldong, or kaldong of the Kalinga palendag of South Maguindanao pulalu of Manobo

Lip Valley Flute Two by two fingerholes. Protruding mouthpiece with a hole. The instrument is decorated with carvings blackened by burning.

Nose Flute

Nose Flute The northern tribes call this kalleleng (Bontoc and Kankanai), tongali (Ifugao and Kalinga) and baliing (Isneg). In the Central Philippines, it is known as lantuy among the Cuyunin, babarek among the Tagbanua and plawta among the Mangyan. produces soft and soothing sounds heard clearly in quiet late afternoons

Nose Flute Long bamboo tube, closed at one end by the node in which the blowing hole is burnt. The flute has three finger holes. The blowing hole is placed under an angle against the nose and the player gently blows into the tube.

Ring Flute Suling of Maguindanao so called because the blowing end is encircled with a rattan ring to create mouthpiece

Pipe with Reed

Pipe with Reed Sahunay of the Taosug Tube with six fingerholes; mouth piece of bamboo with cut out reed; mouth shield made of coconut shell; bell made of leaf (probably bamboo) and blue plastic ribbon.

Chordophones any musical instrument which makes sound by way of a vibrating string or strings stretched between two points Include bamboo zithers, guitars, violins, and lutes

Zither a stringed instrument made from a single bamboo section, around three to four inches in diameter, with a node at each end. Serving as strings are raised narrow strips of the outer skin fibers of the bamboo itself, with the ends still attached to the body of the instrument.

Kolitong

Kudlung (Central Mindanao)

Kudyapi (Bukidnon)

Kudyapi/Kudlung Two stringed lute made of wood, one string for the melody, one for the drone. Eight frets originally held in place placed on the neck of the lute by a sticky rubbery substance. The lute is decorated with floral motives; the tail is carved to represent a stylised crocodile head. These long “guitars” or boat lutes are carved in soft wood usually to represent a mythical two-headed animal, the naga (serpent) or crocodile, or perhaps the modified head, body and tail of thesarimanok, a cockerel-like bird. The kudyapi is alos known as a “speaking instrument” because it figures prominently in courtship. It is also used as an accompaniment for dances.

Idiophones any musical instrument which creates sound primarily by way of the instrument vibrating itself, without the use of strings or membranes Include bamboo buzzers, percussion sticks and gongs

Jaw harp kubing of Maranao kolibauTingguian, arudingTagbanua,  kolibauTingguian, a very thin slit of bamboo or brass with a narrow vibrating tongue in the middle longitudinal section considered a “speaking intrument” Placed between the lips of the player, its tongue is made to vibrate by striking the projecting end of the instrument with the thumb or by pulling a string attached to it. The mouth of the playeracts as the resonator, and as the shape of the mouth cavity changes, the pitch and quality of the sound varies. This enables the player to communicate message with his instrument. For this reason, the jew’s harp is a favorite of lovers and is played by both men and women. It is thus considered a “speaking intrument”.

Bamboo Buzzer balingbing, or bunkaka Kalinga; batiwtiw (Central Philippines) a bamboo tube which is open or split at one end This instrument is played alone or in groups as a form and diversion or to drive away evil spirits along a forest trail.

Kulintang (Maguindanao and Maranao)  consists of eight gongs placed horizontally in a frame and tuned to a flexible pentatonic or five-tone scale  The kulintang ensemble is often considered as the most cultivated of the region’s musical expressions. Aside from being a medium of entertainment and hospitality, the kulintang also serves as a vehicle for social interaction and group solidarity and for learning ethical principles

Agung (Bagobo)

Bangibang

Membranophones any musical instrument which produces sound primarily by way of a vibrating stretched membrane

Dadabuan (Maranao)

Vocal Forms Lullabies (owiwi, dagdagay, oppia, lagan bata-bata, bua, and kawayanna) didactic/figurative Occupational dinaweg (boar), the kellangan (shark-fishing), and the didayu (wine-making) Occasional appros, nan-sob-oy, sarongkawit, dikir War love ading, sindil Ethnomusicologist Jose Maceda Songs mark every stage of human development from birth and infancy to adulthood and death, night and day, and many occasions in the cycle of natural events and the flow of human activities whether personal, social, economic, political, spiritual or cosmic

Patterns and Characteristics Improvisation Low and limited range of notes Melodic ornamentations Greater variety of voice quality Chant-like monotone singing in most groups Rhythmic freedom large number of reiterated and marked accents on one vowel

II. Spanish-European Influenced Liturgical music Gregorian chant Pasyon Secular music Harana Kundiman Rondalla Sarswela

Harana traditional form of courtship music in which a man woos a woman by singing underneath her window at night Structure based on the plosa Pananapatan, pasasalamat, pagtumbok, paghilig, pamamaalam structure of the harana is based on the plosa, the form of Tagalog poetry pananapatan Pasasalamat Pagtumbok Paghilig pamamaalam

Kundiman a lyrical song made popular in the Philippines in the early 19th century Almost all traditional Filipino love songs in this genre are heavy with poetic emotion

Rondalla patterned after estudiantina and comparasa plucked string ensemble bandurria, laud, octavina, guitar, and bajo de uñas

III. American influenced Neo-classicism Conservatory of Music popularity of American rock’n’roll, pop music, dance, and disco “tunog-lata” Low budget films – american culture

IV. Post liberation Filipino Rock Original Pinoy Music “Killer Joe” by Rocky Fellers Manila Sound Folk rock Original Pinoy Music Filipino Hip Hop and RnB Contemporary Philippine Music